When you take everything into consideration, including line mates, 200 foot impact and defensive game, faceoffs, work ethic, and most of all adaptability (Sids strongest suit and one of ovechkins hugest deficiencies), the answer here is pretty clearly Sidney Crosby.

The difference here is mainly to do with hockey IQ. Sid just doesn't have the size and physical gifts that ovechkin does (though he has better balance, hand-eye coordination, reflexes, skating technique and edge work). He doesn't have the laser wrist and slap shots.

Yet he more than makes up for it in terms of vision, awareness, adaptability and decision making. Crosby, simply put, does the most effective thing to make his team win, always. When stone hands Dupuis can't bury golden opportunities, he transforms his game totally in just one season to win the Richard. When he is asked to improve defensively he takes more d zone starts, is among the league leaders in faceoffs and is solid defensively. When he was abysmal at shootouts he came in the next season and scored 9/11 penalty shots.

Sids decision making should be mentioned here as well. The guy simply has some sort of gift that allows him to determine what the best possible play is in a split second, and it allows him to be a step ahead of everyone.

On the other hand the biggest reason ovechkin is doing so poorly right now is because he stagnated and just wasn't smart or good enough to adapt.

When you take everything into consideration, including line mates, 200 foot impact and defensive game, faceoffs, work ethic, and most of all adaptability (Sids strongest suit and one of ovechkins hugest deficiencies), the answer here is pretty clearly Sidney Crosby.

The difference here is mainly to do with hockey IQ. Sid just doesn't have the size and physical gifts that ovechkin does (though he has better balance, hand-eye coordination, reflexes, skating technique and edge work). He doesn't have the laser wrist and slap shots.

Yet he more than makes up for it in terms of vision, awareness, adaptability and decision making. Crosby, simply put, does the most effective thing to make his team win, always. When stone hands Dupuis can't bury golden opportunities, he transforms his game totally in just one season to win the Richard. When he is asked to improve defensively he takes more d zone starts, is among the league leaders in faceoffs and is solid defensively. When he was abysmal at shootouts he came in the next season and scored 9/11 penalty shots.

Sids decision making should be mentioned here as well. The guy simply has some sort of gift that allows him to determine what the best possible play is in a split second, and it allows him to be a step ahead of everyone.

On the other hand the biggest reason ovechkin is doing so poorly right now is because he stagnated and just wasn't smart or good enough to adapt.

The same guy who scored 39 goals in his rookie year transforms in to a 50 goal scorer? Oh wow!!!

The same guy who scored 39 goals in his rookie year transforms in to a 50 goal scorer? Oh wow!!!

No need to be a smartass. Crosby's rookie year took place in '05-'06, which was a statistical anomaly. Numbers were ridiculously inflated that year and we haven't seen scoring even close to that after that season. If it was a regular year, his goal total likely would've been closer to the high 20, low 30 range.

There are plenty of goal scorers who score in the 30s but never hit 50. You're underestimating how difficult it is to improve goal production so significantly like that. Not to mention only him, OV and Stamkos broke 50 that year. In 2011 only Perry hit 50 and this past year only Malkin and Stamkos broke 50. It's not easy to accomplish.

No need to be a smartass. Crosby's rookie year took place in '05-'06, which was a statistical anomaly. Numbers were ridiculously inflated that year and we haven't seen scoring even close to that after that season. If it was a regular year, his goal total likely would've been closer to the high 20, low 30 range.

There are plenty of goal scorers who score in the 30s but never hit 50. You're underestimating how difficult it is to improve goal production so significantly like that. Not to mention only him, OV and Stamkos broke 50 that year. In 2011 only Perry hit 50 and this past year only Malkin and Stamkos broke 50. It's not easy to accomplish.

Sorry.

I don't mean to underrate Crosby's feat. It was impressive. But people here try to make him out as a player who turned his whole game around. Crosby has always been great scorer. He did improve and focus more on the goal scoring than usual but some poster make it look like he was Thornton winning the Rocket. It was a great year and definitely noteworthy. But no where near as big of a turnover as suggested.

Crosby is clearly better than Ovechkin, he's never scored at under a 100 point pace and Ovechkin has 3 times. Even in Ovechkin's prime seasons he was a better goalscorer, but Crosby was easily better defensively and easily a better playmaker. It's hard to understand how so many consider Ovechkin better.

Ovechkin may have had better goalscoring numbers but they were pretty much neck and neck, as far as PPG goes (with the slight edge to Sid). For, however, it went deeper than pure numbers.

OV played for a team that never held him accountable for anything. They tailored their entire system around him and played with a "get the puck to OV" philosophy. He also played with some massively talented offensive players, on most of his 5-on-5 shifts (Backstrom, Semin, Green).

Crosby put up similar numbers but played in a lot more controlled system, with greater attention to detail. Crosby adapted to his coach/team's system, rather than playing for a team that let him do whatever he wanted without much responsibility. He plays a far better all-around game and controls the play better than OV, who plays more like he was shot out of a canon. And he's also expected to carry a third and second-liner on his wings, all-the-while putting up a league best PPG.

Ovechkin was a great player and accomplished more during his prime (due to Crosby's injuries) but I'd much rather build my team around Crosby.

For what it's worth, in 41 games Crosby had 66 points...In 09/10 Ovechkin started the season with 67 points in 41 games

What's your point? crosbys best 41 game stretch point-wise is actually 73 points. Oct 19 2006 to jan 30 2007. Yet he was a much better player in 10/11. Just like he is a better player than ovechkin in his prime.